week's top stories. president obama freezes u.s. russia relations decrying what he sees as a cold war mentality following the granting of temporary asylum to whistleblower edward snowden. syria's moving to the. villages are being raised to the ground by radical jihadists who. hits a six month milestone as the pentagon continues to tax payers money on the prison claims the u.s. still plans to shut it down. and gay communities demanded russia be stripped of the right to hold the next winter olympics in protest over the new law

against homosexuality propaganda. we're running down the world's top headlines of the week here on r.t. . in moscow welcome to the program talk of a cold war punishments and a fractured relationship of made this week perhaps the worst for u.s. russia in years but both washington and moscow have very different takes on the situation where obama is talking about relations the russian side believes it's all being blown out of proportion. as the story. this week when president obama canceled the bilateral meeting with the russian president in september u.s. russia relations have hit

a new low on friday the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov the russian defense minister arrived in washington as planned to meet their u.s. counterparts and we heard two different messages coming from president obama and foreign minister lavrov both held a news conference on the same day at the same time in different venues of course with foreign minister lavrov trying very hard to ease the tension to move it away from the cold war with president obama seemingly doing the opposite take a listen remember very rude words you said when we were saying goodbye you said will i believe that we can make a difference. let's. as adults. and that's what we were trying to do when president putin who was prime minister when i'm president came back into power i think we saw more rhetoric on the russian side that was anti-american that. played into some of the old stereotypes

about the cold war contest between the united states and russia president obama also said in light of all the disagreements with russia it's time for the u.s. to make a pause and recalibrate the tone of the talks at the state department seemed a bit different there were some very serious issues on the agenda like syria like missile defense in europe where russia and the u.s. obviously don't see eye to eye but it seemed there was an agreement on both sides that they should not let disagreements and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries can actually make and one area where the two countries ten make a difference is the crisis in syria both stayed the same objectives that they want to political solution and that they want to bring all sides of the syrian conflict together in geneva to try and map out such a political solution the syrian opposition says they're not going to sit down at the at one table with those who have blood on their hands moscow says in order to stop the bloodshed all hands need to come to the negotiating table and foreign

minister lavrov said john kerry. that the syrian opposition is going to be there but making progress on those very important issues concerning global security becomes not much part of wind relations are defined by scandals now going back to president obama's news conference tomorrow he was not all about president obama has announced proposals for me and i say some failings president obama said he intends to work our way through one provision of the patriot act known as section two fifteen gives the government broader authority to obtain business phone data records he announced the creation of a panel of outsiders former intelligence official civil liberty and privacy advocates and others to assess the program since. it just changes by the end of the year but everybody understand it's all happening because of edward snowden's revelations probably that's why the majority of americans say edward snowden is a whistleblower and not a traitor now it's not clear whether the government will actually go through with those were forms promising is one thing delivering on those promise this is

something else but at the end of the day the american people may actually benefit from what snowden did which can't be said about u.s. marshal a sions. well obviously you know opinions differ on whether the setback in relations was provoked by russia granting fugitive whistleblower edward snowden asylum or whether perhaps that was just a pretext geo political analyst eric draitser he says the obama's consolation is just damage control in order to try and save some face that harm the notion of putin as bringing the foreign policy trajectory back to the cold war is part of the us propaganda machine you see the decision to grant temporary asylum to snowden was not merely a political one it was one that was made out of sheer necessity by putin in the russian government because frankly they couldn't have allowed the mellow drama to continue on in that airport and so what we're seeing as it's being reported in the

media is that this is kind of a tit for tat harkening back to the cold war but i think that what we're seeing is actually practical politics this is really face saving on the part of obama so that he can play kate not only the conservatives on his right who vehemently attacked putin the russian government at every turn while at the same time attempting to portray himself as consistent on the issue. well let's turn our attention to syria where the war has opened another bloody chapter with fierce battles now unfolding in the country's north kurdish fighters are being forced to stand their ground against islamist militia militias who are basically pushing them out of their own territories four hundred fifty civilians many women and children allegedly slaughtered in one attack alone and with have a can the region making specific information very hard to verify and we turn to kurdish journalist but as an east so to help us put together a timeline of the conflict for you right here on r.t. now according to him radicals launch their attacks on july nineteenth by planting

a bomb in a kurdish school and kidnapping civilians just the next day a chain of explosions happened targeting houses across the kurdish enclave switch levelled one village to the ground many more locals kidnapped then an islamist cleric meantime declared from a local mosque that those killing members of the ethnic minority would be rewarded in heaven and encouraged militants to loot and destroy kurdish homes and the violence has spread into early august seventy kurds there murdered three hundred fifty abducted by al qaeda linked militants let's hear more on this developing story now from our correspondent in the region the time to turn over to our tease arena. horrifying images of slaughter and mayhem from a region already in throes of conflict this week some reports emerge that hundreds of kurds have been slaughtered by extremist groups in northeastern syria they're still in very fighting because insurgents keep the media from getting close this is

just syrian kurds find themselves in a grave gruesome situation. that the militants started shooting everyone who came out onto the streets become should young men and started cussing them with knives the rebel shouted granted them all their money homes and their women then they started looting houses the kurds who are one of the largest nations in the world without a state have tried to stay neutral for as long as possible in the syrian conflict and it's for that they believe islamic fighters from al-qaeda affiliated groups turned up their killing pressure on the kurds. kurds do not want to be part of the war and they have achieved that by not siding with the the saudis they're showing their ability to administrate themselves and that all the some international players such as it has been hoping those facing against the kurds for example there are several al qaeda affiliated organizations in turkey going in fighting against the kurds in syria kurds however want to have a democratic syria not just for the kurds but for everyone on top of that jihad is

themselves have made statements alluding to their hopes of creating an al qaida state right here on what they hope to be vestiges of syria but they're fighting a deadline came and went the situation is getting worse and the number of people who have been kidnapped and killed and beheaded is rising every day are they know what's going on there especially into a lot it's a loss a free army and they are united against these two very just as they are killing people on i didn't face on they call their people you can kill them kidnap them capture their woman and it's all how long that means it's or allowed for you once you fight for for god's. russian foreign minister sergei lavrov was among the first to sound the alarm over reports from syria urging the security council to step in we believe that in this option we were shocked by the reports of around four hundred fifty kurds massacred in the north of syria including children just because

the men were fighting against and it's not the first such report of the un security council will condemn all these terrorist attacks we've seen some of its members refusing to condemn terrorist attacks in syria justifying it with the fact that the people behind them are fighting against the outdated regime and this stance is totally unacceptable terrorism should be treated without double standards kurds seem to be facing a double threats on this side of the syrian state border they're up against extremists on the other lies terry it's been a bit or a long running battle with the kurdish workers party and only recently seem to be making amends at the same time on karrar backs the syrian opposition which is known to include al qaeda sympathizers and allows for arms shipments into syria which the gird say end up in the hands of extremists but when it comes to helping kurds western powers who wasted no time in trying to force out president assad seem to do little including extremists an approach that looks ominous to familiar through the

overthrow gadhafi in libya to syria we've been supporting al qaeda the very people who attacked united states of america we knew prior is a cause that spreads from north africa all the way to the gulf that could bring us to a new world war if we don't stop obama and the british policy but for now syrian kurds plea for international help to seems to have been met with indifference in the film school r.t. istanbul. in the meantime the code say what such really happening in syria is nothing short of genocide and they're asking foreign powers to throw them a lifeline of the peace in kurdistan activists while. the united nations as well as the u.s. and the e.u. to act now to hold the ethnic cleansing there demanding that western powers stop sending weapons to groups in syria which then use them to attack civilians and commit war crimes the statement also calls for a probe into turkey's role in fueling the conflict in those kurdish areas and the

democratic union party has sent a letter to the european union with an appeal to step in and do something about the growing islamist danger investigative journalist and writer ledgers that both turkey and the us have direct links to the radical groups the continue to fight in fractured syria. our international interests especially the international geopolitical interests of turkey was a very important nato member we shouldn't forget that nato troops also german troops are now at the turkish syrian border with patriot rocket systems heading against syria so we have turkey on this site and it's long turkey place this important role in this conflict i don't think that there will be any serious international reaction a former member stated that the leader of the. king or working close with the cia and we have other information from the kurdish popular defense

units who claim that the front is also organized and supported by the turkish intelligence and i think this is not a coincidence when we know how the kurds are treated in turkey itself well it is all fair in war the rebel free syrian army deeply infiltrated by al-qaeda linked militias believes that no matter what the assad government should fall and this is the view the kurds are finding a rather hard to agree. do you did. we consider any fight is allied with the free syrian army to be part of our troops concerning that if you take an unacceptable position or make serious mistakes those people will be punished with their extremist liberals or fighters of the free syrian army yes mistakes have been made we have contacted our kurdish brothers seeking reassurance that these things will not happen again but no one responded the kurds have troops who are willing to cooperate with the regime to gain what twenty in the north but

overall we do support the kurdish people every day i am. it's clear that the f.s.a. spokesman is seeking to avoid condemning the violence against hundreds of kurds and the ongoing expulsion of our people from their own lands these crimes have been registered officially and the materials have been passed on to the e.u. those who say the al nasra front are fighting a just war against the syrian regime are keeping silent when militants banished kurds from their lands and carry out ethnic cleansing the free syrian army don't talk about these attacks we don't know which groups are a part of the f.s.a. and which aren't they're taking a very dangerous approach how can anyone justify their trustees that happened in the kurdish settlements. that are still to come here on r.t. and see iranian sentiment it's no bolling in the u.s. senate and dozens of little side up. ok to iran with further sanctions

in the lower house the country with new penalties despite recent president saying he's the top story the rest of the week's top world headlines and just. speak your language. news programs and documentaries in spanish. to you. a little turned into bangles stories. that spanish. visit. mission. couldn't take three. three.

three. three stooges three. three blog video for your media project free media. dot com. here with me. hundreds of gay rights activists across europe and america have been calling for a boycott of the winter olympics or to have them removed from sochi well in protest against what they see as a russia's new anti-gay law justice. spider surance is from moscow the bill the

only bans the promotion of homosexuality to minors and doesn't harm a human rights of the u.k.'s prime minister rejected demands to stay away from the games but that certainly didn't stop the protests and the renowned active actor and gay activist stephen fry right here he joined a rally in london accusing the olympic committee of not trying to fight what he dubbed as russia's barbaric laws even went as far as comparing president putin's attitude towards minorities to that of out of hitler's or the olympic committee responded saying sports should be available to wall in the new law will not affect those attending the games british journalist neil clark he believes that gay rights are actually a disc eyes for other political agendas in nazi germany homosexuals really were discriminated against they were put into concentration camps and killed in large numbers and of course this is not happening in russia today if it was i'd be the first person saying we go to russia all together and i'm not saying i support what i oppose or anti-gay laws wherever they're passed in the world but why stephen fry

focusing on russia there are about eighty countries in the woman where homosexuality is actually illegal one of them is a country called qatar where the world cup is going to be helping twenty twenty two you go to prison for five years if you're homosexual it's political i think there's because i said there's eighty countries eighty coach the board who have worse records on gay rights than russia stephen fry's talking about that so i think it shows double standards here and it shows this kind of russia phobia i think among the western elite that they look down at russia they patronize them and they get this idea that in russia people are more homophobic they're racist it's nonsense it's not true well as the western activists are rising up against the new russian law after using these are now i went to find out what it's like for the gay community here in moscow and she discovered that it's thriving. there is. no stoli no sochi. dumping russian vodka and calls to boycott the olympic games the l g b t community in the west is furious with the

passing of a new russian law banning gay propaganda to minors a detail almost never mentioned lot of here putin signed a law and some very strict anti-gay measures these laws are absolutely obscure they're not clear in what they mean of course it will not have a wide ranging gretzky's of being applied everywhere and to everyone and members of the gay community have been attacked and arrested you cannot say that there is massive suppression or massive attacks against gay people in the streets and that wherever you say that you are gate you will be killed or beaten russian gay activists are taking their case to the european court of human rights and say the law is meant to target specific individuals but see the picture of gay life in russia from abroad is warped these pictures being shown and being portrayed just because this little became a symbol of a protest against the suppression of l.g.b.

community in russia supporters of the law argue it represents the russian majority . if there is a large number of people who believe the lawyers to soften thirty years ago there was criminal punishment for being here if you take examples from some states in the us the relationship is much crudely and strict and this propaganda law was this one . it's important to remember this law is about gay propaganda to minors and it will be enforced with fines not criminal punishment russia is still a very traditional conservative country it wants to called on to that. this is one of moscow's many day and night clubs yes it's in a discreet location but it holds three thousand people is. packed on the weekends and is full of foreigners its owners asked us not to film on the inside to protect the privacy of its clients but reassure us business is booming is a happy arriving excitable you know wonderful gay community which is happy martin

andrews is british openly gay and living in russia for eight years he opposes the law but won't be dumping his russia is dominated by the church in general far more than the u.k. i think if you compare america for example you can't look at some friends of these and new york and then look at the middle part of texas and that's what russia is especially moscow you've got the old meets the new and you've got soviet mindset fused with this capitalist with excising west lifestyle i was in such a last week filming there's a gay community there was a great day scene then but the west has a big and it's on it regarding russia politically. state rice said not to go and he's now a r.t. moscow. now for my foster but to our hunger strike and the muslim holy month of ramadan has come to an end but the hunger strike carries on now entering its

seventh month. he spent nearly two years ago. he thinks the only right thing to do is let people start a new outside captivity. but several countries where the individuals can and should be returned to most of them in fact the overwhelming majority of them know being charged they're not going to be designated for trial by military commission or anything else they should be returned home if they had been convicted they would have served now the equivalent almost of a twenty five year sentence a life sentence and so the answer is that there's simply not enough will in the united states of america not in the amongst the american people sadly and certainly not among american politicians to do the right thing which is to release these men return them back home and let them live the rest of their lives with their families like the most like like all of us have like the former guantanamo prisoners the six hundred of us who've returned to try to build up a normal lives and in the meantime the white house has a reiterated that it is standing by obama's pledge to close down the detention camp

but it seems that the flow of money to the prison certainly is not drying up any time soon in fact the total cost of keeping the facility running more importantly exceed five billion by the end of two hundred fourteen and this year alone the pentagon plans to spend almost five hundred million just for maintenance means every day the u.s. government splashes out about a million dollars of tax official camp and let's break down the numbers for you here on r.t. to see how it all adds up the majority of it the major chunk is spent on security while the legal and court issues come around second but only fourteen million dollars out of all of it are actually allocated to fund prisoner review boards. in the meantime seventy six u.s. senators have signed a letter to barack obama this week calling on him to tighten the noose around iran's neck and urging the president to renew the option for military force and toughen draconian sanctions on the country it's off to the house of representatives

already heroin with a new set of penalties on its oil sector a days before president on he was sworn in the iranian leader was clear about his terms and conditions for future talks that of mutual respect and no hidden agendas but similarity from the national iranian american council you things such negotiations are highly unlikely as washington is off to a completely different goal. the fact that they would vote for a new sanctions before the new iranian president who has been saying positive things and who is going to himself face so many obstacles for the house of representatives to go forward with this vote demonstrates that this is a chamber dominated by politics instead of pragmatism and is dominated by ideology instead of. an actual desire to resolve the problems that. lay before the united states now the reason that they went forward with this vote

was because of immense political pressure from pro sanctions groups and neo conservative and hawkish organizations that are more interested in seeing a war with iran than seeing a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear standoff. well it's been a pleasure having you with us here today i'm sure sushi and moscow are just a moment on a very close look at the two thousand and eight georgia south assessing your war and some of. the u.s. government project arrow marty has been in place for twenty years this project was designed to break the media monopoly on cuban television by putting u.s. government propaganda up to t.v. screens this injection of american t.v.

works with a blimp and a c one thirty military plane working in tandem you know this would actually be a major achievement in the history of technology if it actually worked this program which over the years has built up a billion taxpayer dollars simply does not work but continues to exist despite the cuban government completely blocking the transmission the official logic of continuing the program is that it would send a bad message to the cuban government if they stopped brilliance and action but the big question is who gives the u.s. government the right to propagandize cubans just because they have a different lifestyle doesn't mean it is wrong and the u.s. government does has the right to destroy it and even if cubans on mass actually do hate their system then it is their job to change cuba not the military industrial complex and its cronies in washington but that's just my opinion.

god years on the world has almost forgotten about that for just five days of watching this relatively few casualties and yet the war had all the hallmarks of the bloodiest conflicts in human history political posturing backstage scuffles dramatic a fact all leading to profound finale it was an act of war with real people drawn into a crowd scenes. that if you get the. world.

international politics always involves a fair share of scripting and staging smiling while scheming and keeping up appearances while tensions simmer beneath by summer of two thousand and eight relations between russia and georgia had already been strained with a new leader in the kremlin there weren't resat was trendy in diplomatic circles. i can still remember the moment when i stood up to meet him in my office. the room with a shining. told him i'd like to find a way to ease relations between our countries to improve them. take into consideration the distinct feelings that georgian and russian people had to watch each other. that he had the same feelings. and that it could be achieved. by the end of our discussion.

visit to the white house presidential administration. the first words that george w. bush said to me. he said. there's a good. that was the first thing i heard from him. but there were differences too while it was only adjusting. really had already. had a. general. including the army . georgia.